Course guide · 2027

Val d'Aran PDA 2027: course profile, climbs and aid stations

By Guglielmo Published · Organiser's figures checked

The Peades d'Aigua - PDA is 54.8 km with ↑ 3,364 m of climbing, from Salardú to Vielha: 79 flat-equivalent km. The biggest climb is about a fifth of it: ↑ 561 m in 2.5 km after Arties, very steep. Còth de Pòdo, 2,589 m, is the high point.

Race day: Thursday, 8 July 2027, start at 07:00 in Salardú; time limit 14:00. Part of HOKA Val D'Aran by UTMB®, 7 – 11 July 2027, Vielha - Val d'Aran, Spain.

Course facts · 2027

Distance
54.8 kmOrganiser
Gain
↑ 3,364 mOrganiser
Loss
↓ 3,652 mOrganiser
D+ per km
61 mOrganiser's figures
Flat-equivalent
79.2 kmPendio, from the GPX
High point
2,589 mPendio, from the GPX

Header: 55 km and 3,300 m; this page uses the course table. GPX: the organiser's 2026 file. Some cut-offs on the page belong to another edition with a different timetable; they are left out and the time limit kept.

Elevation · Peades d'Aigua - PDA peak 2,589 m
0 km53.6 km
Hardest climb2.5 km @ +22.7 %
Hardest descent6.3 km @ −19.9 %
Distance
53.6 km
Gain
↑ 3,239 m
Loss
↓ 3,526 m
Peak
2,589 m

The GPX's own numbers, a little under the organiser's figures.

Where is the Peades d’Aigua - PDA decided?

At the end: the climb out of Arties to Santet Escunhau, and the very steep drop into Vielha after it.

The course climbs from the start. The first leg rises about 530 m to Banhs de Tredòs with hardly any descent; at the time-limit pace you are there at nine on Thursday morning. Then comes the longest leg, and the longest stretch between aid stations: from Banhs de Tredòs to Colomèrs, with nearly 1,000 m of climbing, over Còth de Pòdo, the high point of the course. It starts with a steep climb out of Banhs de Tredòs and ends with a steep descent from the col. It carries more than a quarter of the race’s work, and at Colomèrs two fifths of it is done, at ten to one at the time-limit pace.

The middle of the course is where the ground turns very steep. From Colomèrs a steep climb leads to Tuc de Salana, and the drop from there is very steep. Half the work is done on the way to Mont-Romies; at the time-limit pace you reach it at ten to four. What comes next is a descent, not a rest: from Mont-Romies the course drops about 700 m into Arties, very steep.

The course leaves Arties straight up. The leg to Santet Escunhau is 679 m of climbing in under 6 km, kilometre for kilometre the hardest of the course, about a third as hard again as the average. The biggest climb of the race is on it, very steep: 561 m at 23 % on average. At the time-limit pace you leave Arties at ten to five on Thursday afternoon and reach Santet Escunhau at twenty to seven, with a sixth of the work left.

The finish is the biggest descent of the course. From Santet Escunhau one more steep climb, about 550 m, leads to Tuc de Meddia. From there the course falls 1,246 m in 6 km to Vielha, very steep from top to bottom. The last leg loses nearly three times what it gains and counts as the second hardest per kilometre. At the time-limit pace you finish at nine in the evening.

Organiser's distances and heights; Pendio's shares and clock.

Where does the Peades d'Aigua - PDA's effort go, aid station by aid station?

Organiser: km, ↑, ↓ and supplies (2027). Pendio: the shares. How we measure courses.
Legkm ↑ m↓ m DistanceEffort
→ Banhs de Tredòskm 8.7 · drink 8.7 53542 16 % 14.5 %
→ Colomèrskm 23.9 · food 15.2 997775 28 % 27.4 %
→ Mont-Romieskm 35.9 · drink 12.0 701913 22 % 21.1 %
→ Artieskm 40.4 · food 4.5 8634 9 % 6.7 %
→ Santet Escunhaukm 46.3 · drink 5.9 67940 11 % 13.6 %
→ Vielhafinish · km 54.8 8.5 4441,248 15 % 16.7 %

The course in detail

Flat-equivalent distance

79.2 km for 53.6 km on the map

Terrain

Climbing 46 %Flat 9 %Descending 45 %

Distance in each grade band
GradeDistanceShare
≤ −20 %7.4 km13.8 %
−20 / −15 %2.6 km4.9 %
−15 / −10 %3.8 km7.1 %
−10 / −6 %3.6 km6.8 %
−6 / −3 %3.7 km6.8 %
−3 / −1 %3.2 km6.0 %
−1 / +1 %4.7 km8.8 %
+1 / +3 %3.8 km7.0 %
+3 / +6 %4.6 km8.7 %
+6 / +10 %3.7 km6.8 %
+10 / +15 %3.7 km7.0 %
+15 / +20 %2.9 km5.4 %
> +20 %5.8 km10.8 %

D+ per 10 km

0–10 km629 m
10–20 km881 m
20–30 km629 m
30–40 km196 m
40–50 km1,121 m
50–53.6 km0 m

Biggest climbs

From (km)Length (km)D+ (m)AverageSteepest 100 m
41.32.5561+22.7 %+40.3 %
43.93.3554+16.9 %+38.9 %
11.12.0320+15.8 %+33.6 %
3.93.4307+8.9 %+19.6 %
24.41.3225+17.3 %+25.9 %

Biggest descents

From (km)Length (km)D− (m)AverageSteepest 100 m
47.26.31,246−19.9 %−37.3 %
33.93.5717−20.2 %−42.0 %
27.02.3499−21.3 %−48.8 %
17.84.0458−11.4 %−28.0 %
22.50.676−12.9 %−19.9 %

Coming from road marathons?

  • 54.8 km is 12.6 km more than a marathon.
  • Steeper than 10 %: 23 % of it going up, 26 % coming down.
  • The longest stretch without aid is the 15.2 km to Colomèrs; the shortest is 4.5 km.

How does it compare?

Organiser: km and ↑. Pendio: the rest. Every course side by side.
Coursekm↑ mD+ per kmFlat-equivalentSteeper than ±10 %
Lavaredo 50K 48.72,65555 m64.2 km47 %
E51 - Panorama Trail 52.82,86154 m72.2 km46 %
Peades d'Aigua - PDA 54.83,36461 m79.2 km49 %

Plan your Peades d'Aigua - PDA

Your target time, shared out by effort between Banhs de Tredòs, Colomèrs, Mont-Romies and two more aid stations, with your clock at each one against the 14:00 time limit at the finish in Vielha, the fueling plan and a pace card.

The course and its GPX on the organiser's site ↗ Add to Pendio

Adds the Peades d'Aigua - PDA 2027 course to your Pendio account, with its aid stations as a race plan. Your phone or browser downloads the file from the organiser's own site, and Pendio checks it against the file this page measured.

Questions

How long is the Peades d'Aigua - PDA?

54.8 km, ↑ 3,364 m and ↓ 3,652 m, from Salardú to Vielha (the organiser's 2027 figures); their GPX measures 53.6 km and ↑ 3,239 m.

How much of the Peades d'Aigua - PDA is flat?

Almost none: 9 % of the Peades d'Aigua - PDA is flat, about 5 km; 46 % climbs and 45 % descends.

What is the Peades d'Aigua - PDA time limit?

14:00 from the 07:00 start, so the finish in Vielha closes at 21:00; the organiser's page lists another edition's cut-offs only, so none is given before the finish.

What is the biggest climb on the Peades d'Aigua - PDA?

↑ 561 m in 2.5 km after Arties, very steep: 23 % on average, 40 % over its steepest 100 m.